twisted
by barakuro
Summary: When one of Watari's wacky experiments leave him with amnesia, the scientist comes into the hands of the crazy Dr. Muraki, and some ineresting bonding develops. How will Tatsumi,Tsuzuki and Hisoka pry Watari away when he doesnt even recognize them?
1. sonic boom

Disclaimer and whatnot. Honestly, I don't see the point in these, considering that if Tari, Tatsu, Tsuzu ,and Bon belonged to me, I would'nt be posting here. And I'd be a VEEERY happy foxy. Oh! And I don't own Muraki-san, either, except in bed….XD



Watari leaned forward to measure the new sample of glyceride. He was humming to himself as usual, flitting around his lab like a humming bird, testing out his latest potion. The particular recipe he had found wasn't a sex-change potion, but some sort of energy replenisher…or something. Watari hadn't really looked. Anyhow, he was having a hard time keeping a hold on the test tube. He had to pour an exact amount of glyceride into the flask of black substance for it not to explode. His black fingerless gloves were getting in the way of holding the test tube steady. He would have to take them off.

Watari reached to place the test tube down, but its holder seemed to be missing. He scowled a little. Well that's just perfect…

" What is wrong with you, Yutaka?" he said to himself. 003 hooted, as if in agreement. " I'm just out of it today, aren't I, girl?" he said, nuzzling the tiny owl on his shoulder. "Oh well…."

He would just have to deal. He settled with using his teeth to pry his gloves off. He tugged first on the leather around the button, and, freeing the strap, peeled the thing off his hand. He was just placing it on his worktable when a loud BOOM ripped through the office.

……………………….

"But Tatsumiiiii….."

"No, Tsuzuki, I have told you before, you wreck our budget daily. I do not see the point in endorsing it any further. Or have you forgotten just how much you owe the Ministry?" Tatsumi sent out his lecture without looking at the other shinigami. He had paperwork due at the end of the week, which left him a grand three hours to sign an entire inbox full of documents.

Tsuzuki pouted. Why did Tatsumi have to be such a hard ass? All he wanted was a few hundred yen to buy a Cinnamoroll for Hisoka. The kid had never tasted one. Tsuzuki knew Hisoka's past was horrific, but to never have tasted a deluxe crème-covered, mouthwatering Cinamoroll? It was Tsuzuki's job to look after him, after all. Besides, he might have enough left to buy one for himself….

BOOM.

Tsuzuki's mind-rambling came to a halt as the building shook from the noise. He thought he heard some crashing glass…a window, maybe?

He glanced at Tatsumi. The Secretary hadn't so much as lifted his eyes from his paperwork.

"What was that!?" Tsuzuki exclaimed. "You think we should investigate?"

"No, Tsuzuki, if you paid any attention to anything but your stomach, you would have realized before that Watari blows his lab up once a week." Tatsumi knew this as fact, because he, as a secretary and the Ministry's accountant, had to use the budget to repair it every week.

" No." Tsuzuki's face was suddenly set. " It was louder than that. Watari's explosions are never this bad…"

Tatsumi stopped writing. He's right…and I already filed one for the damage Watari did yesterday… Tatsumi stood up. "Come on," he said to Tsuzuki, gliding past him and down the hall, Tsuzuki like a trained dog at his heels.

The two shinigami reached Watari's lab, but they weren't the first ones. Hisoka and Terazuma had come to see the damage as well. Hisoka turned as the others arrived.

"Did you hear that? It was almost supersonic."

" is he okay?" Tsuzuki said tentatively.

" I don't know," Hisoka looked worried. " We knocked, but he didn't answer, and the door's locked. I can't feel him in there, either." Hisoka's eyes shifted, and he clutched his elbow.

Tsuzuki looked to Tatsumi, who nodded. "Stand back."

Everyone gave him room, and Tatsumi summoned a shadow. It reared up like a snake, and plummeted under the door. Tatsumi concentrated, closing his eyes. He found the lock, and turned. There was a click. Tatsumi stepped back, and Tsuzuki rushed past him into the room.

"Watari!" called Tsuzuki. " Watari!" The Shinigami looked frantically. His violet eyes fell on golden curls peeping out from behind the worktable. "WATARI!"

He ran to the unconscious scientist, lifting his limp torso off the ground. The others were close behind him. Bits of skin were melding itself back onto Watari's cheek where the explosion had no doubt ripped the skin from bone. Terazuma gagged.

" That's so gross," he commented.

" at least he's not dead," Tsuzuki said, answering a little more harshly than he normally would if it had been anyone but Terazuma. Watari let out a moan and Tsuzuki's attention was averted. " He's waking up!"

Watari sat up, and Tsuzuki let go of him.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tsuzuki asked.

"No, I'm fine," Watari mumbled, rubbing his head a little. "Ow."

Tsuzuki sighed, relieved. Watari was back to normal. "Jeez, Tari-kun, you scared me. Be careful what chemicals you mix from now on, okay? "

" It wasn't me this time, I didn't even---wait." Watari paused. " Who are you?"



Dun dun duuuunnnn….

End chapter one. Why? Because I'm tired of typing for now.

Tatsumi: You are so irresponsible.

Ryo: whaaa? MEEEE? -pokes-

Tatsumi: -glare-

Ryo: -runs away-

Tatsumi: reviews are greatly appreciated. It lets the author know if they are doing a good job or not. I advise you to take part. Or else. –scary Tatsumi look-


	2. an eminent problem

Woot! Chapter 2! I admit, I'm having fun with this one. This chappy is just some Muraki drabble. I hope to speed things up soon, though. I don't usually type up my fanfics, so I only have my For Remy uploaded here… but I'm working on it…

Tatsumi: That's because you shirk your work every chance you get! You're as bad as Watari and Tsuzuki!

Ryoko: waaah! Tatsu-kun's picking on meeee!

Tatsumi: Hmph. You deserve it, slacker.

Okay. Read now.

Chapter Two 

Tsuzuki blinked. "W-what?" A worried expression replaced his relieved smile. "Come on, Watari…it's me!"

Watari merely stared, apparently confused. "Um…" he said, scratching his head. "Nope. Sorry, but I've never seen you before."

Tsuzuki looked at Tatsumi, his eyes pleading. Tatsumi felt his chest get tight. The secretary kneeled before Watari, looking straight into confused amber eyes. "Watari, do you know me? Do you remember who I am?"

Watari shook his head. Tatsumi shifted his glasses.

"Kurosaki!" he barked, his voice the only sign that the situation disturbed him. Hisoka stepped forward, and Tatsumi faced Watari again. "Do you know Kurosaki, Watari?"

Watari stroked his chin with his finger. After a few moments, he spoke. " Bon."

Hisoka gasped, and Tatsumi leaned in. "You recognize Kurosaki?"

The scientist smiled. "Not at all. He just strikes me as a 'Bon.' Don't you think? " Watari chuckled to himself as the others sighed. Watari shrugged. "I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm pretty sure I've never met any of you before, even when I was alive."

_Amazing_, Tatsumi thought. He doesn't remember us, but he's acting completely normal, as though his lab simply exploded. This was definitely amnesia. The explosion had done something to his head. Tatsumi felt a little unnerved. Most people would have a nervous breakdown after suffering even the smallest degree of memory loss. Watari seemed completely content with his state of mind. He even knew he was dead. But that was, at the same time, just like Watari. The wannabe scientist was usually chipper and up for anything. He didn't get emotional about things. When things got bad, Watari was there with a level head, even when Tatsumi himself lost it…

Tatsumi didn't have much more time to dwell on this, for Watari was getting to his feet and dusting off his lab coat. "Well," he said. "I really blew it this time."

"Damn right you did," Terazuma muttered. Watari looked at him for a moment and laughed.

"You came to see if I was okay, Kazuma?" he teased, slapping the ex-policeman on the back. "How nice of you."

At this, Tsuzuki burst into tears. "How could you, Watari? I thought I was your friend! Now you've forgotten me, and you still remember Terazuma?" he whined, fleeing from the room in the typical Tsuzuki fashion.

"What's with him?" said, Watari, confused. With a sigh, Tatsumi followed Tsuzuki out the door.

"Stay with Watari, Kurosaki!" he ordered over his shoulder. "He may still be unstable."

Watari made a face at this, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out at the retreating Shinigami in protest. "I am not!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes and sat down on the cot Watari kept in the corner, as a hoot rang through the silence. 003, flying down from a stack of papers taller than Enma himself, perched herself on Watari's shoulder. He welcomed her with a tummy rub and a smile.

"Okay, I'm done. I'm going back to work," Terazuma said loudly, and promptly left the room.

Watari giggled a little, and then grabbed a swivelly chair near his desk, sitting down and facing Hisoka. "So, Bon, are you new?"



Muraki sipped his tea smirking. He had this feeling, out of nowhere, that Tsuzuki was thinking of him. True or not, Muraki enjoyed the feeling. Being entranced by the older man's eyes and face, Muraki relished him in his mind. He imagined touching the Shinigami's skin, thinking of how he would protest, but ever so gently, as his heart tormented him. He would get angry and attack the doctor, but the thought excited Muraki even more.

Oh, Tsuzuki….

A knock at his door sprung the doctor from his thoughts, a scowl covering his usually serene features. He'd told the nurses to let him be…

A man with long black hair entered the room. His elaborately sewn yukata and wooden getas were quite out of place in the hospital. The man was a smoker, and held his pipe in this hand still, though out of out of courtesy for the patients he had neglected to light it. He took a step towards the doctor, and Muraki's nostrils were filled with the sweet aroma of pipe tobacco, sake, and something of an entirely different era.

"Oriya," Muraki muttered.

"Muraki," Oriya spoke the words clearly. "I came to apologize."

Muraki turned to face him, his fake eye glinting in the soft light of the sinking sun. "For what? ' he asked, placing his tea on the desk.

"For Kyoto." Oriya said, more quietly this time. "I was being a little rash. I should have stalled them longer."

Muraki didn't answer. He knew that his plans were flawed, and that they would probably end in his demise, but what he didn't expect was this reaction from Oriya. After all, he hadn't died. It wasn't even Oriya's fault. Tsuzuki had stabbed him before the other Shinigami arrived. If they had arrived later, he would have burned in the hellfire with his precious Tsuzuki. So in a way, Oriya had helped save his life.

"It wasn't you, Oriya." He said finally, cryptically.

"That boy," Oriya continued in a low voice," He reminded me of you" He's_ thinking of Kurosaki,_ Muraki mused. "He said he was fighting to take back his home. I know that is what you've been doing these past few years. Maybe I let him go too soon, because of that."

"Like me, eh?" Muraki muttered, staring out the window, a small smile creeping to the corners of his mouth. "So the poppet begins to reflect the master…."

Oriya took a step forward. "Poppet?"

"Do you know what I did to that boy, Oriya, to make him hate me so much?"

Oriya didn't respond, and Muraki continued "I raped and killed that boy a few years ago. H was, for a lack of a better phrase, in the wrong place at the wrong time. He saw me at Crimson Moon. When I murdered Cecile. He was so sweet looking, I yearned to touch him, and so I did. "Muraki's eyes had begun to sparkle with madness from the memory." who would have thought," He murmured almost dreamily," that he would lead me to Tsuzuki? "

He turned to face Oriya now, and Oriya felt the hairs stand straight on his neck at the look on the doctor's face. "That boy enabled me to meet the man I have dreamed of since childhood, the man with amethyst eyes and demons blood…"

Oriya made a soft "tch" sound, turning his head. Muraki never showed his emotions when thinking of Shinigami. Oriya had dealt with this for a number of years, as he had dealt with the murders, but it still made him sick inside. And now Muraki was going mad with it. There was something about this man that was crying out for something. He had only met Muraki in middle school, but he had sensed it in him then, as well. Only once had he shown any true emotion. The doctor had been as cold and aloof as he was now, and only slightly less insane. He was sure this man was searching for something more than simple love. He had watched helplessly as his friend walked away, unsure of his own future, but unable to turn back.

"So," he said in a shaky voice." What are you going to do now? "

Muraki sobered for a second. He shot Oriya a look that told him he already knew the answer. "What will I do? I'll make him mine."

TBC


	3. A Chance Meeting

Erg. My computer died on me and I have been fretting and lazy and writers-blocked and all sorts of weird things that has kept me from uploading the next chapter. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the whole thing planned out yet, so there are kinks and things to sort out and whatnot. The LAST time I finished this chapter, the computer I was typing it on didn't save it, and then froze, so I lost a good deal of work. I might redo this chapter a few times, so watch out for that. Sigh Thanks for reading this

**Chapter 3- A Chance Meeting**

After an afternoon of confusion, the problem of Watari's missing memory had been confirmed. Tatsumi had called in an expert from the Judgment Bureau's Medical Department, and discovered, with much dismay, that Watari was indeed suffering from partial amnesia. The only thing Watari seemed to remember was his interest in potion-brewing, his name, age, deathday and birthday, and several random members of the staff, including Konoe, Terazuma, the Count, and only one of the Gushoshin brothers.

His mood, on the other hand, was quite as it had been before the accident. When left alone, he bustled around his lab, exploding things, researching, and, as the older of the two bird Librarians was quick to point out, ate while reading, leaving crumbs between the pages of the precious books.

The next day Konoe called Tatsumi into his office. The boss's usually wrinkled face was now distorted further than usual with worry.

"Tatsumi," he began, placing his forehead onto the palm of his hand.

"Sir." Tatsumi replied respectfully, sitting perfectly straight in his seat, like a soldier in the line of duty. Not that Japan had had a military for decades.

"This situation regarding Yutaka Watari is very unstable."

Tatsumi was confused. "Unstable, sir?"

" I took this to the board yesterday." Konoe sat up a little, clasping his hands together in front of him. He looked Tatsumi in the eye, his expression quite serious. "They're very concerned. I am not sure if you know this, the academy never had any reason to tell you, but Shinigami do not regularly lose their memory. In fact, the last recorded incident was a millennia ago, and the reason for even that was obscure. We do know this however; only a power as great as to compete with Enma's is said to have caused it."

Tatsumi's hands tightened on his chair " you mean…?"

Konoe sighed, and nodded. "Watari's condition has lasted longer than 12 hours. We don't yet know why, but we believe there may be something very dangerous after him."

Tatsumi was speechless.

" Which means, I want you and your colleagues to watch over him. I'm not sure what you can do, but you will at last be able to keep him out of trouble. I didn't call you all in at once because I didn't want to alert him; as I am under explicit orders not to do so. I trust you Tatsumi. I will let you know when I have more information. This may just be a prank, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Yes sir," Tatsumi replied, and left the room silently, engrossed in thought.

Despite this, Tatsumi ordered him to be watched at all times, much to the annoyance of the scientist, who, although the order was to be kept a secret from him, could feel them following him wherever he went.

He fixed the computer for Tatsumi without question, though he had now gotten the impression that Tatsumi, Tsuzuki, and Hisoka were new recruits. He had smiled courteously and informed Tatsumi that if he needed help with anything, his lab was right around the corner. He had also taken to mentioning random tidbits of common information about the building, like which button on the coffee machine was broken. Tatsumi was quite aware of this, as he frequented the machine the most out of the entire staff, so it irked him a little that he was being told what he already knew. He only hoped that Watari's memory would return quickly. If not, he was sure to go mad.

After about a week of no odd behavior, he noticed the urgency of their task waning. Keeping an eye on Watari was easy enough, but the paperwork slowed considerably, and a growing pile of unfinished work was creeping slowly upon them. Tatsumi assured himself that if something were to happen to him, it would be obvious, as the team were in the same building. Watari would be safe.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If he was quick, he could slip out unnoticed. He tiptoed to the end of the hall, an empty coffee mug in his hand– the excuse for being out of this office– and peeked around the corner. Tsuzuki: snoozing at his desk, check. Bon: seated with his back turned to the door and hard at work, check. Tatsumi: . . . in Konoe's office discussing a report, check.

The members of the Judgment Bureau had been keeping a well-trained eye on him since his accident, and it was starting to get on Watari's nerves. There was always someone with him, watching with that odd look on their faces, as if he would hurt himself if they let their gazes leave him for even a second. He had to admit, it was odd, being watched by new employees, but they had relented over the past few days, and he could finally get some work done. Apparently he had shown ample signs of health, and no longer needed babysitting.

His chance for escape was eminent. Suddenly, Tatsumi looked up from the desk and looked straight into Watari's eyes. _Uh-oh_.

He held up his mug, pointing at it and smiling. _I need some coffee_, he mouthed to Tatsumi through the glass. Tatsumi nodded with a roll of his eyes and refocused on his report. Watari flitted onto the break room and leaned against the wall, a hand clutched over his rapidly beating heart. "That was close!" he breathed.

He moved to the coffee machine, well used and still hot, and filled his cup. Looking furtively around him, he walked calmly out from the room, turning right down the hallway, the exact opposite direction of his office. Holding his breath, he snuck like a fox to the door, which was open, thankfully, (Hisoka had complained about needing air) and slid out.

Watari hummed as he made his way down the street to the utility store. It was a magical place, that store. It had everything from computer parts to lab equipment to those tiny little candy biscuits that 003 loved to nibble on. Practically everything a mad scientist/technician would ever need or want. He had saved his pay for about a month and there was one item in particular that he had in mind; one that would help him in his next experiment. He could use a decent beaker as well. He strolled into the store, nodding at the cashier who grinned widely at him, and made his way to the back of the store.

The item in question, a long, cylindrical item with gadgets at the end–with a practically unpronounceable name that was even harder to spell– was located on the second to last shelf, in three different colors, two of which had adjustable speeds. Watari chose the smaller of the two with adjustable speeds, briefly debating on whether to take his original orange color or try the blue, and walked towards the beakers with a new blue appendage under his arm.

As Watari crossed under the giant hanging sign labeled, "Labwares," he headed towards the mini-beakers, which would work better with his potion measurements than a proper sized one.

But lo and behold! The beakers were cleaned out. Watari clucked his tongue. _Trust this place to have every trinket imaginable and then be short on beakers . . . _Just to be sure, he peeked in back and ... Aha! One lone, little beaker, nearly on the other side of the shelf stood waiting for him. He reached out a hand for it, but another hand closed around it.

He glared up at its owner and met eyes with another man. Or rather, met eye, for the man's right eye was covered almost entirely with soft strands of silver hair.

Watari was distracted for only a second by the man's beauty. He had, after all, cheated him out of the last piece of equipment.

"Excuse me," he said through the space between shelves.

"Yes?" his voice was strangely melodic, but with a cold note to it.

"I was going to buy that," he said.

"Really?" Muraki replied quizzically. "It seems to me that, since I have a hold of it, I will be the one to purchase this."

Watari frowned. "It seems to _me_, sir, that it just so _happens_ to be on my side of the shelf, so _I_ should be the one to buy it." The man raised an eyebrow as Watari stared defiantly through the shelf at him.

The man smiled. "It seems you are right. "He moved his hand from the beaker. Watari glanced at the man before snatching it up and walking towards the cashier's end of the store. _Weirdo…_

He checked out with a smile. His wallet was considerably lighter, but at least he was one step closer to completing his experiment. Make that two, with the new beaker snug in the bag he carried out the door. The sunshine outside made it all the better. He breathed it in, sighing in happiness. It wasn't so bad being dead.

Kazutaka Muraki was not dumb. He had been a schemer from birth, a doctor by profession, and had a murderous hobby in which he had never been caught. So when he found himself at the behest of this peculiar blonde persona, he was not a little shaken. He watched the man walk away, some inkling of something tugging at his mind.

What was it? After a few silent moments of thought, a fuzzy mage resurfaced in the doctor's mind. A certain kite-like contraption meant to track him, with bulging eyes and wings, horribly matched colors and an obtrusive nose. He had met this man before.

An idea was forming in the doctor's head, growing more and more sinister every second it was left to spawn; he could use this man, perhaps. For he was connected to Tsuzuki, of that he was sure. Another Shinigami? The thought excited him, and he smiled wickedly. The smile plastered his face like some twisted work of art as he walked out of the store, chuckling softly as the door clanged open and then shut again behind him.


	4. Chapter 4 Drawing Straws

**Chapter 4: Drawing Straws**

Watari sat in the board room and leaned back in his chair. Tatsumi was on the other end of the table, staring at him over a stack of papers.

" Do you know why you're here?" He asked calmly.

Watari shrugged. " Not really. Is there a new case you need help on?"

Tatsumi's eyebrow twitched with annoyance, but he bit back a scathing reply.

He gritted his teeth and muttered, " We're here regarding you."

"What for?"

" The chief has asked for me to build a psychological profile for you."

" Interesting. Is this new protocol?"

" ...Something like that," There was an upside to this; at least he didn't have to lie. He didn't know if the man in front of him would cooperate if he knew he was being singled out. Not that the rest of them didn't need it. Maybe he'd make a note of that.

"Lets start off with some easy questions." Tatsumi pushed up his glasses. " How are your eating habits?"

" Fairly healthy," Watari said. "I make sure to get all of the proper nutrients. Unless I'm stuck at work all week."

" Physical?"

" The missions keep me mostly fit. Though I do squats in the lab when I'm waiting out an experiment."

Tatsumi's eye twitched this time. " Okay, now on to emotional. This one is a bit more important, so tell me everything relevant. Does this job satisfy you?"

"Like a fat child in a candy shop."

"What about at home?"

" Decent. I spend a lot of time at work."

Tatsumi took a large breath before the next question. "How do you get along with your co-workers?"

" Quite well, I suppose. We've been getting a lot of new employees lately. Is the division expanding? I wasn't sure that's really in the budget."

" I'm sure the Bureau's finances are handled." Tatsumi snapped. He gritted his teeth as he continued." How exactly is quite well? New employees mean more getting to know people. Any problems with anyone?"

" Nope, everyone gets along well, like we've known each other before."

" Is that so? Are you sure you haven't forgotten anyone?" He stressed the word 'forgotten' and leaned in as he said it.

" You know, a lot of people have been asking me that lately. Is there some sort of joke I'm missing out on? I don't mind pranks, but I feel like I'm waiting for a punch line that never comes."

" I wouldn't know. I don't participate in pranks." _Which you should already know. _

" You didn't strike me as the type." Watari smirked.

Tatsumi wanted desperately to throw the papers in the air and storm out. His reputation prevented him from doing so, but only barely. It would be much easier to fix his amnesia if he admitted that he had it. Konoe had said not to push it, so he bit his tongue.

"I think that's it for today." He said finally. " We might go over this again next week."

"Okay, even though we have no leads, I think its time that we brainstorm to figure this out."

Residing in the room was a lazy silence. They had been wracking their brains and databases for ideas, and it was getting old. The last week had gone by with the Summons Division focusing on their regular cases. Keeping an eye on Watari and searching databases for information had been split up between them, but not on high priority. Now that it appeared that the effects were not going away, the team members had been called in to report. Tsuzuki heard his stomach rumble through his half closed eyelids.

"Has anyone found anything yet?" Konoe sighed. The lack of information was disheartening.

"Anything?" The silence continued. "Gushoshin? Nothing in the library?" The birds shook their heads in unison.

"It's rare that we come across something like this. Usually if brain damage occurs, the Shinigami's healing abilities sort it out within a matter of hours." The younger of the brothers shook his head. " We even looked through all previous case files on the main system, but nothing popped up. The only other case showing a Shinigami losing their memory didn't detail how it had happened. And they never recovered. "

A worried look passed around the room.

"Tatsumi?"

The secretary pushed up his glasses and stepped forward, brandishing a clipboard. He cleared his face of emotion. He had to keep up appearances, after all.

" I found nothing about Watari's condition, but I have been hearing reports about an energy disturbance in the area. Sound waves that cause small earthquakes, even in Meifu. Some of them have occurred on earth, and it has caused the death of a few humans. No one has seen the cause of them yet, but I think it may be more pressing than a case of mysterious amnesia. However, I do care about the well being of our employees, so I will continue to research."

Tsuzuki could barely hear any of them. The meeting went on around him as he sat with his head on the table. Though he got over the sting of rejection from earlier that week, he still felt the emptiness and boredom, as he had no one to joke with. He was worried about his friend, and nothing anyone was reporting gave him any hope. Would he have to start his friendship over? And what if he mysteriously regained his memory, like in the movies, and forgot everything in between? Then the new memories would be lost. It was this that had kept Tsuzuki from interacting with Watari. His thoughts were interrupted by Konoe barking his name.

"Tsuzuki, pay attention, this is important!" When the Shinigami's head popped up, the chief continued, "This is to be kept secret from Watari. Until we know if there is a connection, or even if this is reversible, we don't want to confuse him. We have enough backed up research projects and paperwork to keep him busy in the meantime. Utter nothing of both of these cases to him."

He yawned as everyone filed out of the board room. So they were keeping secrets now. He was dreading looking through the medical journals again. His stomach was protesting loudly. He had just remembered the sweets Hisoka had brought him that morning. Maybe if he slipped into the break room, no one would notice. This improved his mood greatly. He was moving gleefully down the hallway when he ran headfirst into someone.

"Hello, Tzuzuki-san!" Tsuzuki looked up into the cheerful, bi-speckled face of none other than Watari Yutaka.

"oh, um...hi," he said uncertainly. He hadn't expected this.

"Where did everyone go, I have something to show Konoe."

"Uh..."_ Don't say board meeting about you, no top secret cases " _I don't know, I think they went to lunch." Watari raised an eyebrow. Tsuzuki shrugged, and Watari's face fell.

"People have been acting so weird lately. Did something happen? "

"No, no! Nothing happened!" Tsuzuki stuttered, "Nothing at all."

It felt weird to lie to his best friend. _I have to get out of here. _Tsuzuki slid past the scientist with a mumbled "see you later," and flitted behind the break room door and closed it.

_That was close. _

It took him a bit to calm down. Nobody was in danger, but nothing felt right. The friendship that he had valued deeply was gone. Like it never happened. Tsuzuki wanted to be angry, but without a cause, there was nothing to be angry at. At least when Muraki was involved, he had something to focus on. Things were out in the open, and he knew he could do something. Now, it was just confusion, and going about his day like nothing was wrong. It felt strange, and he hated it.

Tsuzuki rummaged around in the fridge for the cinnamon roll. It was behind a bundled bento, and some takeout that smelled funky. He pulled it out and popped it into the microwave. As he waited, he wondered if things would ever go back to normal.

On his way back to his desk , Tsuzuki heard a harsh tone down the hall. He stopped in his tracks and peeked around the side. The voice was Tatsumi's, and he was practically unhinged. He had Watari up against the wall, gesturing violently.

" Don't you understand what happened? We've been through things together! We're part of a team! We've almost died together! You have to remember something!" Tatsumi was out of breath, his heart and head pounding, trying to keep was always calm. But this had been gnawing at him for more than a week, and he was starting to lose control.

_Please, say you remember me..._

He couldn't help himself. He drew his fingers up to the younger man's chin, guiding those amber eyes to meet his.

As soon as Tatsumi touched his chin, a sharp pain shot through Watari's head, and he backed away, his hands covering his face and eyes.

"Watari!" Tatsumi was alarmed, and reached out a hand, concerned for the other man, but Watari merely shook his head, wincing at the pain.

"I'm fine," he insisted."Look, I don't know what your problem is, but my brain is just fine. I don't need your remarks about how I should get it looked at every damn day. You're the one who's crazy. Get out of my face." Tatsumi's heart sunk into his stomach at the look on Watari's usually cheerful face.

Watari pushed past him, shaking his head.

Before he knew what he was doing, his hand was grasping at Watari's lab coat and pulling him back towards him. He desperately pressed his lips against the scientist's.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound filled their ears and the building shook violently.

Tatsumi! Get everyone under cover! This could be trouble!" Konoe's voice thundered down the hall. The two men stared at each other, frozen.

_Why did I just do that? _Tatsumi was shaking. If the building was under attack, they should be finding cover. But all he could do was stand there, transfixed at the emotion on Watari's face. He was searching for recognition. Something, anything.

Watari could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he walked chastely down the hall and turned the corner. In addition to the painful throbbing, his mind was also buzzing with wonder.

When the new guy had touched him, his mind flashed with pictures of him. A murderous glint, and annoyed expression, and one of sadness. These scenes were like bits of a movie, or a photo album with missing pictures. But there was another one. The last image was a softer, gentler Tatsumi. It was rare to see that. Tatsumi had shown this to Tsuzuki often enough, but Watari had seen that smile only once.

Watari blinked. _What?_Where in the world didn't these strange thoughts come from? Tatsumi was new, there was no way he could have "remembered" that. There was only one good explanation for this: Watari was losing his mind.

A hand pulled him down the hallway and under a door frame. He remembered that the building was shaking, and there was a buzzing sound pulsing in the air. He looked to his right to see Tsuzuki covering his head.

"Hisoka! Are you hurt?" Tsuzuki yelled out, once the shaking stopped.

A faraway voice responded, " I'm fine!"

" Is anybody hurt?" Terazuma passed them in the hallway. They nodded, and he moved on.

" What the hell was that?" he asked Tsuzuki.

" An earthquake?"

Oh my gosh, it's been YEARS since I've updated. I'm so sorry. Thank you for sticking with me all this time. I really want to finish this fic. I'm determined!


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